Question: How do you move a 38 ton bridge? Answer: Very carefully.

Construction activities continue this summer on Lower Silver Creek between Interstate 680 and Jackson Avenue to Story Road, and near Lake Cunningham.

And at the Dobern Pedestrian Bridge near Capitol Park, the water district will raise the bridge and complete the final stretch of installing floodwalls and widening the creek bed underneath the bridge by the end of the year before the winter season.

Fortunately for neighbors, the bridge won’t be closed to the public while all of this activity is happening. Instead it will be temporarily relocated a stone’s throw away from its current location and remain open during the construction activity. That spells good news for residents who use the bridge quite frequently to visit the park and the elementary school which open its doors to students at the end of this month.

Every winter, thousands of households, schools and businesses in San Jose are susceptible to the damages of flooding from Lower Silver Creek during a major storm event. Over the past 50 years, Lower Silver Creek has experienced severe flooding that resulted in damage to residential, commercial and industrial properties, as well as erosion of the creek’s banks and levees.

When the last leg of the project is complete at Lake Cunningham , the water district can submit a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove properties currently in the flood hazard area and eliminate the need for residents to carry costly flood insurance.

In addition to providing protection from the damages of floods, the Lower Silver Creek Flood Protection Project work would also provide enhanced habitat and vegetation along the creek, new recreational amenities for the neighborhood, including pedestrian bridges and opportunities for trails.